Holding on
by zeona last
Summary: She would never fail to be at his river everyday. Always, at the same hour and minute, She would be there with her barefeet in his waters. She never cared if he couldnt hear her, as long as she has someone or something to talk to apart from her family and friends, she didnt care. So what if, for the whole of one week, she wasnt in his waters. Will someone get worried?
1. Chapter 1

It came on a day that was supposed to be the best, where everything was supposed to be perfect like as if god designed it for himself. It ruined everything that _was _supposed to be perfect. Everything just came down on her like a meteorite crashed on earth….and it hurt; it hurt like hell. On a little piece paper, it read:

'_I will never be able to keep my promise. I will never be able to see you again. I am very sorry.'  
>Love you always,<br>Haku_

It was just a short line, but it tore her apart. She dropped to her knees and start breaking down. The dam that held all her unhappy feelings crashed and poured. All her sadness and Anguish turned into sorrow._ It killed her._


	2. Chapter 2

**Ciao! Zeona here! This is the second chapter of Holding on! I still think it is toooooo short compared to those long fanfics I've read.  
>I'm soooo sorry for that... I just wrote Whatever was in my mind XD.<br>But whatever, Here's the story!**

Disclaimer: Spirited away would never ever be mine no matter how hard I beg.

Knowing that she could not stay like this forever, Chihiro stood up and wept her tears away. She tore and threw the little piece of paper and prepared for a very long and relaxing bath.

Chihiro sat and hugged her legs in the waters of the bathtub, humming to the tune of her favourite song, one summer's day. She stopped abruptly and her thoughts wandered to her time in the spirit world. _Haku why?_ She thought. _Why do you want to leave me?_ Her lips clasped together and tears started streaming down her cheeks. Just as it came down, Chihiro wiped her tears away.  
>"No!" She yelled to herself, "I will not cry!" She slapped her hand onto the surface of the water and relaxed a bit. <em>Let's go to the river today.<em> She thought and smiled at it. _Yea, let's go._

Chihiro walked out of the bathroom half naked and went to the wardrobe and pulled out a black long-sleeved top and a pair of long black jeans._ So today is all-black day huh._ She snickered at the thought. She put on her top and jeans then wore her black Nikes and took off from _her _blue house.

Chihiro skipped and hummed along the way to the river. It wasn't really far from her house and it wasn't really near either, it was just a few minutes' walk, actually. Chihiro arrived at the river and immediately without thought; she dipped her forefinger into its waters. Feeling its cool, she knelt down and dipped her whole hand into it and played around. With a sad smile on her face, Chihiro whispered: "Oh Haku, I do hope you are able to hear me. I missed you, I really do." Hot tears streamed down her cheeks and into the river as she leaned closer. "I hope you didn't forget about me already, I will still wait for you ya' know… I'll come back tomorrow alright? I hope you heard me." And with that, Chihiro took off and ran back to her house, excited and ready for tomorrow.

~~~~~~HAKU~~~~~~

A man walked down a snaky path in a dense forest, injured and beaten. He held onto his injured left arm and swayed left and right trying to keep his balance. His long hair dragging along behind his back made it harder for him to walk; it kept getting in the way. He nearly tripped on his hair once, he cursed at it.  
><em>I'm so stupid. I'm VERY stupid. Why the hell would you trespass a demon territory? Look what you have gotten yourself into. Ugh….just a little more and you'd be ho—<em>Haku's thoughts were cut short when suddenly, he heard Chihiro in his mind.

"….Haku…..Hope…..able to hear….I missed you…really…." It was all in snippets but he could understand. _She must be by one of those rivers that I could hardly reach. _He thought.  
>"I'll still wait….I'll come back tomorrow." That was the end, Haku did not hear anymore. But he was happy, because Chihiro said that she would return tomorrow to talk to him. Eager to go home, Haku increased his walking speed and with a grin as big as a Cheshire cat's he went home.<p>

**And That's all Folks! I hope you guys enjoyed it, I really don't want anyone to B*tch-slap me for it being so Darn short. As I said, I just wrote whatever was in my mind. Anyways, From 16****th**** November to 20****th**** November, I would not be around as I am going to Sarawak, Malaysia with my peeps. So I just wanna give you guys a shoutout alright? So No posting of any chapts during that period of time…**


	3. Chapter 3

Haku woke up with a start; he sat on his bed and smiled. Today was the tomorrow of yesterday! And even though his bandaged wounds from yesterday were protesting, he very happily stretched. Haku jumped off of his bed and, _BAM!_ He found himself on the floor.

'Stupid hair.' He mumbled as he got up. He turned to the drawer beside his bed and rummaged for a rubber band. After finding one, he tied his hair into a ponytail, though it did not make much of a difference for the length of his hair as its ends were still touching the ground, to him, it helped a bunch.

Haku did his usual routine; cleaning his teeth, combing his hair top to bottom, tying his hair, dressing, making breakfast and the everyday routine of lying around and being bored… It is normal for an unemployed spirit to have nothing to do after all.

After a while, Haku got up and lazily dragged himself to his study table, he pulled out a piece of paper from its drawers, took a pencil and started to doodle. He doodled on for about an hour and finally dosed off. On the piece of paper, it was a very detailed sketch of chihiro lying in a bed of white roses.

~~~Chihiro~~~

It was the last day of the weekend, Sunday. Chihiro had actually forgotten about all the homework and assignments that her teacher gave her, she threw everything onto the table, her worksheets, booklets, folios, everything from her bag. She sharpened her pencil until it was as sharp as a spear and got started. One could imagine the time taken for a nineteen year old doing so much work in a day, the worksheets that piled on top of each other was as tall as three oxford dictionaries!

After five hours of scribbling gibberish on papers and surviving with only a piece of bread for lunch, Chihiro finally finished her homework. She stretched and gave herself a massage and went to shower. After almost an hour of sleeping in the bath tub, Chihiro came out with her fingers and toes wrinkled, her hair was still dripping wet despite the futile struggles of drying it. She hates it when water drips onto the floor as it makes it wet and slippery. _I need to hurry; it's almost 6pm_ she thought. Chihiro quickly pulled out some clothing, wore her snickers and rushed off to the river.

After arriving at the river, Chihiro subconsciously took off her snickers and socks and dipped both of her legs into the water. She played around for a bit, flinging water into the air and 'watering' the plants at the riverbank.

She laughed and said "This feels great Haku! The water is so cool!" Chihiro stopped flinging her legs and smiled.  
>"Tomorrow's the start of a new week, I'm afraid that I will not be on time. I'm too busy; I just started my doctor's career. I'm going to be a doctor one day and help all the sick and needy. And funny though, being doctor and going to regular health check-ups, Hahaha…...tomorrow is the bi-annual check-up….I'm sorry, I really am. But wish me luck and hope the results are good!" And with a smile, she left.<p>

Over on the other side of the world, a man sat on his desk chair worried. _Chihiro? Sick? What? _He thought. _No way, the Chihiro I know is strong and healthy, regular health check-ups must be something all humans must have._ Then, Haku eyed his drawing of chihiro and felt a shiver on his spine. _Must be the air_ he thought and brushed it off without a care, he then went to his kitchen to make himself a lonely dinner.

**HIIIIIIIII! I missed you guys sooooooo much! I'm soooo very sorry for like, leaving you guys for one week. I had a rough week, my laptop broke down and started with the errors and I had to destroy it and buy another Macbook, I lost all my first and second chapts and my explanation for this story so I'm using the chapters on the website to refer to. I went to Sarawak with my bffs, it was awesome, the hotel we stayed in was 'Grand margarita', and it was fabulously designed. I loved it and I recommend it to those going on a vacation to Sarawak.**

**Ok, so instead of giving spoilers, I'm going to switch to private messaging replies to those who reviewed….XD I hope you enjoyed the chapter! **


	4. Chapter 4

"CHI-CHAN!" shouted a voice from behind. Chihiro turned around to see a blonde running straight at her, not giving her time to find out who it was. The blonde aimed for her arm and tugged at it, yanking her forward. _Haruhi?_ She thought.

As they walked side by side, with Haruhi still holding onto Chihiro's arm, she asked in an excited tone:

" Hey chi, you going anywhere today? Wanna go mall? I heard they opened a new one yesterday. Its very close to the school, only a few minutes walk!" Haruhi grinned.

"Can't, I've got something to do today. Maybe this Saturday? You'll have me for the whole day." Chihiro replied. Also smiling, but it wasn't that obvious.

"I see….Are you going to the river again today? Or are you gonna go back home and bury yourself in that new book you borrowed today." Haruhi cocked an eyebrow,waiting for an answer.

"How'd you know? But I'm not going to do any of those today." Chihiro said and smirked.

"I saw you last Saturday, my mum was driving me home from my uncle's house. And as you know, my mum's car is incredibly slow, I got the chance to see your face, I recognised it even in the dark. And you looked like you were talking to someone…Who were you talking to?" Haruhi asked.

"I wasn't talking to anyone but myself. Anyways, I'm going to the hospital today for my regular check-ups. Just so you know." Chihiro smiled and refocused on the path.

"Oh…Your Bi-annual check-ups. I forgot its today. You want me to drive you there? I mean, my ballet class is near the hospital and maybe when you're done, you can call me, I'll pick you up so we can go to dinner together. Hows that?" Haruhi offered.

"Thanks, you're the best." Chihiro replied and then, the duo changed their paths and headed for the carpark.

**~~~~~AT THE HOSPITAL~~~~~**

"Thanks, see ya later!" Chihiro said as she came out of Haruhi's red convertible.

_Its great to have a friend like her._ Chihiro thought as she went into the hospital.

Haruhi was chihiro's best friend, she knew a lot of things about her just as much as haruhi knows a lot about chihiro. She knows that she loves to go to her uncle's house but it was not because that there are kids there, it was because of their adopted son, Fushimi. Chihiro also knows when she did_that _with him, even though she nagged at her, telling her that she was too young. But she got used to it as everytime Haruhi did_it_ with him, she would tell her. And it was Very often.

Chihiro smiled. _Good times_….  
>She went to the counter, filled in everything that was needed and was told to go to the doctor's room once her number was called. But not even a minute after she sat down, her number was called. <em>I guess its my lucky day today<em>. Chihiro stood up and went to the doctor's door. After knocking a few times and hearing a soft 'come in' from the other side, she went in.  
>"Ah…Chihiro, good to see you. How are you doing lately? Any sickness? Anything?" The doctor asked as Chihiro was sitting down onto the chair. <em>Doctor's being weird, she would normally start off with 'Hello again Chihiro, lets get to business…." Not that.<em> Chihiro thought.

"I'm fine thank you. I had a bit of flu a few weeks ago, but it was gone the next day." Chihiro replied.

"Ah…I see, anything else? Did you vomit or anything?" The doctor asked. Chihiro shook her head,

_Vomit? Its flu, why would I vomit?_

"Um…Do you want to know about your health?" The doctor asked suddenly after a few seconds of silence.

"Yes please." The doctor nodded her head slowly and turned to her laptop. She began clicking away and occasionally, glance at Chihiro. A few minutes passed by and Chihiro became very anxious._ Whats wrong with me? Doctor, hurry up and say it! Am I sick or what? Is it fatal? Am I gonna die from it? _She thought. Then, suddenly, the doctor stopped and with a grim face, she said:

"Chihiro….You have a disease…I found out about it a few days after you came for the previous check-up…you know, for the blood test. And as you know, I would check my patients' blood again after they left to double check that they are fine. But when I got to your sample, I saw these strange looking cells attacking your blood cells. And after research and asking around…I found out that these are disease cells." The doctor paused and swallowed, then continued.

"Chihiro, these disease cells aren't normal, I think they are new diseases, and these diseases, that emerge out of the shadows suddenly, doctors would not have enough time to react and make a vaccine quickly. I mean, you know right? Vaccines alone would take a long time to make and produce, they would normally take a few years' time." At this point, Chihiro already started tearing.

"How long do I have?" Chihiro asked in tears.  
>"At the very least, two months." Chihiro nodded and cried even more. The doctor cried too, she hugged and comforted Chihiro even though she knew it wouldn't make her feel any better.<p>

**-HAKU-**

_I wonder how Chihiro is doing, is she ok? No, she should be fine, regular health check ups are something humans must have._ Haku comforted himself for the fifteenth time for the day. He didn't get a wink of sleep at all last night; he spent it all on worrying about Chihiro.

"Aargh.." He exclaimed. _I wanna see her, I wanna see her so badly. But I can't. It's a rule, no spirit are allowed to cross the gate. The world would be unbalanced, a rift would open and gods would be raging._ Haku stood and went to his desk, he took a pencil and started drawing. His mind was filled with many thoughts of Chihiro so much so that his hand, as if on auto, drew her. Dressed in a long white flowing dress, dancing happily in a field of_ white chrysanthemums. _

**I know I would always give excuses as to why I have been so slow in updating my story (****I think that's what you guys think) but I have been truthful to you guys, I mean, the previous post of what happened was really true and my laptop really did die a painful death, I'll even give you guys a piece of it, tops. And I am going to be truthful, too in this post.**

**Have you guys ever gotten your first ever laptop, and you use it for a few months/years and then suddenly, it has viruses and it starts crashing, slowing down and everything and you had to buy another one. And so, you got another laptop, twice as expensive as the first one, and then something happened, lets say an accident, it crash landed from the top floor and onto the front lawn's pavement of your four floor bungalow. It snapped, cracked, destroyed, everything and all your wonderful and important data, Lost. How would you feel?**

**It was horrible, I left it on the window ledge and queen(****My cat's name) pounced on the screen and sent it down dropping. She went along but landed safely on her feet and scrambled off somewhere. I just went screaming the f-word and running down the stairs chasing after it, a few minutes after it dropped.**

OK now, put that damned aside, and get on with it.

**How did you guys feel about the story so far? Do you think I should pursue after it or just drop it?  
>Sorry this chapter has so many dialogs but hey, its longer!<br>I love aaaaaall your reviews, it kept me inspired and gave me the urge to get onto it with any gadget That I could use. So keep those reviews comin'!XD **

**Ok, now I know this reflecting thingy is getting longer but last question.**

**Any ideas for the next chapter? It would be appreciated. I'm starting to run out and I think I should end it quickly.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading!**

( 1380 words!((includes reflecting thingy)) new record!)


	5. Chapter 5

Chihiro stepped out of the hospital and reached for her bag and fished out her phone. She dialled Haruhi's number and it went through almost immediately.

"Hello? Haruhi speaking."

"Haruhi? It's me, Chihiro, I'm done here, are you?"

"I am. I'll be there in 5 minutes, tops."

"Ok." After that, Chihiro hung up and dropped her phone into the bag. She rubbed her eyes with her sleeves, ridding any traces of tears and her crying before. Just after she did that, Haruhi's convertible pulled up on the drive way.

"Hey girl, how are you doing?" Haruhi asked.

"I'm fine, thanks for worrying." Chihiro replied as she sat on the front passenger seat.

"So where do you wanna go for dinner?" Haruhi asked.

"Somewhere far away from the hospital, no matter what restaurant I go that is within sight of the hospital, it's food would taste bad. I don't know why." Chihiro shrugged after she said that, Haruhi laughed immediately after.

"Alright, somewhere far away it is."

They kept quiet for a while along the ride until Chihiro broke the silence.

"Do you think I should stop at the river for a while?" She asked.

"So that you can talk to your boyfriend that is a river spirit?" Haruhi glanced at Chihiro, in time to see her face-Wide eyed with an arched eyebrow and an agape mouth.

"I have my ways of knowing." Haruhi said as she grinned. "But just so you know, you ain't going down there in this hour of the night. I mean, after we have dinner, god knows what time it would be already, not to mention how long it would take for us to reach to that river. So, no. wait until tomorrow, you'll have all the time in the world with him. Alright?"

"Alright." Chihiro said as she nodded.

**~~~~~HAKU~~~~~**

After a few hours of non-stop drawing, Haku finally puts his pencil down and admired his work._  
>Not bad for a master piece. <em>Haku thought as he surveyed his art. _I wonder how Chihiro is doing, I hope she's alright._  
>He left his master piece on the table and went outside.<br>_Only one way to find out, lets go find Zeniba._

**Hey Guys! After three days of looking around in computer shops, I finally found an awesome laptop! An Asus Zenbook that is scratch resistant! It was like love at first sight, I was walking around the store looking at laptops and I saw this awesome looking blue Asus and I was like: This is It! Big thanks to Hana no kamisama for recommending this brand, I love it! **

**Anyhow, I hope you guys had enjoyed this chapter. And I will look forward in reading your reviews.  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you ok?" Haruhi asked for the umpteenth time.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure I am." Chihiro replied regardlessly, without leaving her eyes off her hand-brought homework.

"No you ain't."

"Yes I am."

"You ain't."

"I am"

"You ain't."

"Yes, I—" Chihiro was cut off mid-sentence.

"No, for the last time, you are NOT fine! You're sick and I know it!" Haruhi half yelled and pointed her finger at Chihiro.

"….How'd you know?" Chihiro asked in a monotone voice with a tiny hint of curiosity.

"You didn't come to Uni today, you said you would go to the river to visit your river spirit boyfriend But look at the time now! Its 8:35 PM! And we haven't even eaten dinner ever since you decided to plop down on the desk with the homework, ever since I brought it here, which is like three hours ago. Now can you please tell me what's wrong with you?" Haruhi raised an eyebrow, waiting for Chihiro's answer.

Chihiro dropped her pen and turned to look at her best friend. With a poker face and a monotone voice, she answered:  
>"I'm dying in two months."<p>

The sentence hit Haruhi like a bullet train, it took her moments to process the five words, as her body acknowledged it and tears started to stream down her cheeks, she stared off into blank space.  
>A cold hand grasped her arm weakly and jolted her back into reality.<br>"What?" Haruhi managed to croak out though almost inaudible. She looked at Chihiro.  
>Her face was sad, yet, a soft and small smile played on her lips.<p>

"I'm fine really." That's all it took for Haruhi to know that she didn't want to talk about it.

**~~~~~HAKU~~~~~**

Haku landed directly in front of the door and immediately transformed into a man. As he raised his hand to knock on the door, there was a click and the door opened slightly and out came the head of No face.

"Ah..Ah..Ah."-_"She's not here."_ No face said immediately after his head popped out.

"I haven't even asked…What do you mean she's not here?" Haku asked in a fierce voice.

"Ah..Ah." -_"What I said." _No face replied calmly. "Ah.. ." -_"You may come in and see if you like."_ And so he did. The house was just as it was ever since his last visit; when he came to fetch Chihiro.  
>And it was just as No face said, Zeniba was really not at home, no matter how much Haku searched.<br>_Fine then, I'll come back tomorrow._  
>After waving goodbye to No face, he transformed into a dragon and leapt into the sky.<p>

No face closed the door. And said:  
>"Ah..Ah."-<em>"He's not here anymore."<em>

"Pssh… Finally." Said a feminine voice out of nowhere.  
>Under the dining table, there was a white paper origami sticking onto the underside. It flapped and leapt onto the floor and transformed into an old witch by the name of Zeniba.<p>

With a sad face, she said: "I really don't want to tell him what's going on with Chihiro, it might set him on a rampage on the celestial gods, demanding to be able to go to the human world." Zeniba reached for an old book with torn pages on her bookshelf. "Meanwhile, lets go find a cure for Chihiro. Shall we?"

"Ah..ah.." -"_yes."_ No face nodded and began gathering herbs and flasks from shelves.

** Ok so well, that was another short chapter…**

**I just wanted to write another chapter (I don't know why), and so I did. Think of it as an apology, cuz I wrote very little for chapt 5. But then again, I wrote ****_A bit_**** more than I did in this chapt. ****_A BIT._**** But meh.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I would look forward to your reviews.**

(Oh hell, even the reflection thingy is short)


	7. Chapter 7

_"__Zeniba? Zeniba are you there?"_

_"__Yes child, yes I am. Now, please do tell how Chihiro is doing." _

_"__She's sick, gravely sick. I'm sure…"_

_"__Anything else if I may ask?"_

_"She…She said she was dying…In two months."_

_"__What?"_

_"I sensed a strange vibe from her. And I saw her aura. It was greying. Bit by bit. Her beautiful and pure white aura is greying! Zeniba! Can't you do anything? I've known her for as long as her whole life. She is a nice and cherubic girl, she does not deserve this! Please Zeniba. As her guardian, and on her behalf, I beg of you."_

_"Do not beg child, it is not necessary. I too believe that Chihiro does not deserve this pain. I'll do whatever means necessary."_

_" This disease is not humanly, I suspect it is from the spirit world. I will do my best in helping Chihiro first hand from here. Meanwhile, do not tell Haku about this. You know how he would fair out in this. The celestial gods might even Banish him. For his safety, do not tell him."_

_"I will not child, Don't worry. We need to get on to our own tasks now. Until then, Goodbye."  
><em>

* * *

><p>Haruhi walked down the main road leading to Chihiro's blue house, hands in the pockets of her blue skinny jeans. Moments after she reach the second block from her house, Chihiro came out from the door; locking it and leaving.<br>_Change of plans_. Haruhi thought. She walked into an ally and changed her plans for Chihiro. At the end of it, she met a fence. Seeing as that is the dead end, Haruhi looked around to make sure no one was watching. With a flick of her fingers, she transformed into a black and purple spring butterfly. Her beautiful black wings glistened in the morning sun that was barely showing through the grey clouds as she took off in an amazing speed in order to catch up with Chihiro.

* * *

><p><em>"Haku, she really misses you, can't you go see her?" Haruhi pleaded loudly as she walked quickly to catch up with Haku's fast-paced walking. Haku stopped abruptly and turned around to face her.<em>

_"You're the celestial god king's favourite daughter, you should know better than to ask of that." He turned back around and started walking again. "Besides it is impossible. If I were to, the balance between the spirit world and the human world would become unstable, rifts would open, the celestial gods would be raging and they would come after me! it would be chaotic. The spirits would also go over to the human world and start devouring all living things when they get the chance or the humans would come here and start destroying everything. All that because a spirit wishes to see his true love again!"_

_Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Oh please. " she muttered._

_"Ok fine, don't see her. At the very least, go write her a letter or something. Anything would be fine, be it gifts or love letters, anything to show her that you still love her!" Haruhi half-shouted. Haku didn't say anything. He just kept quiet. "Even a letter that says you couldn't see her ever again is fine. For all I care, anything is fine!" She added. Haku looked towards her, legs still walking. He raised an eyebrow and turned back to the front._

_"__I know you're going to not like what I'm going to say but, you said anything was fine so, I'm going to do the last suggestion you gave me." He said in a monotone voice, hiding his unwilling side. Haruhi face-palmed. 'Go kill yourself Haruhi. ' She thought. She had never wanted to punch someone so badly in her life.  
>'Since when has the rule stopped you from chasing her?' She thought, thinking back her past thousand years of age.<em>

* * *

><p>Haruhi caught up with Chihiro in minutes, she landed on a lily near Chihiro. She watch her dip her hand into the calm waters.<p>

"_Oh Haku_," She heard her whisper. "_I know I'd say I would wait for you but I could wait no longer. I'm starting to get impatient. Please, I'm scared I might forget about you_." Tears started to well up in her eyes. "_Please hurry, I really want to be with you_"

Haruhi flew away to a nearby building and transformed back into her human form.  
>'<em>Oh my dearest Chihiro<em>.' She thought. She shook her head and started towards Chihiro.

"Chi-chan!"

Chihiro heard from a far and immediately turned around to see who it was. _Haruhi._

"Haruhi? What are you doing here?" Chihiro asked.

"I could ask the same of you." She shot back.

"I was…at..the..river?" Haruhi looked away.

"You know what? I don't want to walk alone. You wanna walk with me?" Haruhi looked back at Chihiro, an eyebrow was raised.

"Walk to where?" Chihiro asked as she cocked her head to the side.

"To nowhere in particular. Just walk aimlessly, chat, oh you know. Like a walk around town with your best friend." Haruhi said. Chihiro smiled triumphantly.

"Alright."

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Haruhi? What are you doing here?" Haruhi stopped looking at the fishes and turned around._

_"Chihiro! What are_ you_ doing here?" She asked as she watched Chihiro straighten her straw hat._

_"__Walking. You wanna come with me?" Chihiro raised a hand in front of her. Haruhi gave her a look._

_"To where?"_

_"Nowhere in particular. So you comin?" Chihiro asked, still holding out her hand. Haruhi Grasped the hand immediately and smiled._

_"Um hm!" She exclaimed._

_So they went on a walk along the Kohaku river, to nowhere in particular. They walked in silence._

_"__So Chihiro, I know we're only kids but what do you think about that boy who lives opposite you?" Haruhi suddenly asked, breaking the silence._

_"__You mean the boy who lives in that big house and whose family owns a big farm?" Haruhi nodded. "I think he's nice, he is also kind. I think. I mean, we often play and go to each other's house. Haku's a good kid. He's obedient, unlike us." They both snickered. "His dad gives me sweets when I go to his house too!"_

_Haruhi nodded with a smile. "Do you like him?"_  
><em>Chihiro spitted out her spit that was in the middle of swallowing. Her face turned red.<em>  
><em>"No! Its not like that! I don't like him!" She denied. Her face both red in anger and embarrassment. Haruhi laughed like mad.<em>  
><em>"Is that so? I don't think your face agrees." She laughed even harder. Chihiro nudged her elbow with hers.<em>  
><em>"Oh come on!" She yelled and pushed her to the side of the road. Haruhi stumbled and pulled Chihiro along as she fell into the Kohaku river. There was a big splash, which revealed two village girls on top of each other; in fits of laughter.<em>

_Far away, a boy walked in the waters of the Kohaku river, watching as the whole scene play out.  
><em>

* * *

><p>Tears rolled down Haku's cheek. He also wanted to be with Chihiro, she had no idea what she was doing to him, she was torturing him by sending him messages. No, its not that he didn't like it, it just pains him.<p>

Haku lay on his bed. The message came through while he was still sleeping, and it jolt him awake as she entered his mind.

_'__Is it worth it?'_ He thought. _'Is it worth getting banished for?'_ He shook his head.  
><em>'Its love, its worth anything. Even if it means dying.'<em>  
>'<em>I should write to the celestial gods to tell them I'm coming.'<br>_

* * *

><p><strong>HEYYYYYYYYY. <strong>

**The update's so late! I'm so sorry!  
>So much drama lately.<strong>

**Anyways, tune in very soon cause I'm about to give you guys a surprise!(don't get your hopes too high.) XD**


	8. Important notice

**Surprise! Surprise….not surprised? Ok…..I'll get straight to the point.**

**So, for a long time, I have not been active, partially because of Christmas and new years, And an awesome promotion at work.**

**And now I'm working full-time. Which means Updates will take very long. And what's more I ended chapt 7 in a cliffhanger...Damn.**

_  
><em>**I'll only be free on weekends, which means two days to write a chapter. That good? Though I may not post the chapter on the day I finish it. You know, Sunday, need to go work on Monday, need to sleep. But I'll try. I Promise ;).  
>I'll try to make the chapters as long as possible. Or just try to maintain a thousand plus words. <strong>

**Anyhow, happy new year and I hope you have a good day! :D**


	9. Chapter 8

_1592, spirit world._

_"Oh my, look at the amount of souls coming in!"_

_"This had never happened before. Are the humans having one of their big conflicts again?"_

_"Of course they are. "_

_"yeah, an even bigger one at that."_

_Truly, Hundreds of thousands of souls were streaming in from the gates of the spirit world. Some stopped midway and crouched, crying and yearning for their families._

_"I pity them." A small girl with long black hair suddenly appeared. The nearby spirits yelped at the sudden sight of her._

_"Haruhi-sama!" They all cried in unison._

_"what?" She asks, with her big curious eyes and arching eyebrows._

_"I'm sure they are surprised to see Haruhi-sama all of a sudden." Her lady-in-waiting, who stood quietly beside her, replied for the spirits._

_"Is that so? Chihiro?" Chihiro nodded her head slowly. Haruhi shrugged and returned to look at the souls, leaving the surrounding spirits in bazaar. They were remnants of the body they once resided in, died by, be it killed by the opposing side or the deadly disease that still clung in the airs of the human world._

_"Chihiro, what happens to the souls after they pass through the red door?" Haruhi suddenly asked, pointing to the enormous red door that stood on the far end of the path the souls were walking on._

_"umm…First off…They would meet the celestial gods. Next, the celestial gods would debate on whether if they should grant the souls the punishment or the reward. Souls who had done a lot of bad deeds in their human lives would get the punishment." Pause. "But those who had only done good deeds would get the reward. Which is either a job in the spirit world or reincarnation."_  
><em>Chihiro smiled at Haruhi after she finished. Secretly hoping that she wouldn't ask what the punishments were.<em>

_"Then what are the punishments? I mean, you told me the rewards, I want to know the punishments now." Haruhi asked cheekily._

_Dang it. Chihiro sighed._

_"The punishments vary in many. Some, even the smallest of things have a punishment as heavy as lead. Some, the heaviest of crimes have even heavier punishments, some as heavy as the punishment of death." Haruhi gasped,_

_Dying not once, but twice! She thought._  
><em>"Example, if the souls were to have lied a lot in their lives, their tongue would be pulled out forcefully and their vocal cords would be crushed." Chihiro paused to think about more frightful things. " Um…And if they were to have mistreated people and things, they would had their limbs broken, twisted, crushed-" A hand flew over to her mouth.<em>

_"Stop! Stop! No more!" Haruhi yelled, startling nearby spirits. Chihiro smiled in her cupped mouth. She carefully removed them, like they were priceless porcelain._

_"Alright, I'll stop." Haruhi gave a sigh of relief._  
><em>"Oh! Look at the time now!" She suddenly exclaimed. Chihiro looked at the giant clock tower at the far away. It read:<em>

_3:30. Tea time. She thought._

_"Oh, it's tea time, shall we go back to the palace for tea?" She asks. And the princess gladly agreed._

* * *

><p><em>1600, Spirit world.<em>

_Haku took her hands into his and smiled._

_"Chihiro, I know, you and I not supposed to be together. And that you're Princess Haruhi's Lady-in-waiting and you'll forever be by her side. And I know that I'm a god, and I was meant to be betrothed to another. But that's gone and lost now."_  
><em>He held her hands tighter. "I know that you're not the type that likes mushy mushy romantic words. So I'm going to skip right away to the point." He took a deep breath as a small grin appeared on Chihiro's face. "Will you marry me?"<em>

_"Oh Haku," She said cheesily. "I thought you would never ask."_

_And he let out the breath._

* * *

><p><em>1601, Spirit world<em>

_It came too fast. Too fast for him to comprehend what had happened. Too fast for them all._

_One moment they were laughing away, chatting, being congratulated, being wished for the best, being very happy,_  
><em>The next, a woman came and destroyed their supposingly beautiful future. She killed her. She killed his lover, his bride, the only thing that kept him moving, running and jumping, His only living, breathing, wondrous and pure white source of light. She just killed her, grabbed her soul and pulled it out, all in swift motion.<em>  
><em>She. Killed. Her.<em>  
><em>And everyone froze as she dropped onto the white marble like a ragdoll. Haku was too shocked to even breathe. But as the woman who killed her laughed hysterically, he jolted back into reality and dropped to the ground. Cradling his bride as the first round of tears rained down his cheek.<em>

_His breaths hitched as he hugged her tighter. His cries were silent but the tears were visible. They stained her beautiful white dress. The other people just stood there, with their shocked faces and their frozen body. The only one who bothered to move was Haruhi. Her breath became shorter and sharper, her fists clenched, the glass she was holding cracked. Her eyes turned red with anger and as tears started to crowd, she lunged for her. Coming in on the right._

_The woman tumbled as Haruhi grasped her. Her nails dug into her neck like hooks that caught onto a fish. Blood sprayed out from the woman's neck as Haruhi's hands left to claw on another spot. Her Face. The woman screamed hysterically in pain. Haruhi stopped abruptly to see the mess on the woman she made. Feeling more and more satisfied every minute, she wanted to finish her off._  
><em>Touché was the last thing she heard.<em>

_Haku pulled her closer than one could ever be, her head by his. Feeling her soft brown hair that was in a loose ponytail. She wanted to grab him. To tell him that she was ok. She still had a bit of life in her and she wanted to make full use of it. And so she did. She managed a smile and whispered in his ear._  
><em>"I love you."<em>  
><em>And it was all it took to deliver the final blow. Haku's dam broke and he cried. Hard. Big droplets of tears came and splashed, stained and wetted. He screamed a furious scream. Then she vanished. And he quiet down. For a bit. She vanished into thin air like all spirits do when they die once more. She became on with everything. Every particle and atom clung onto something, joining the crowd of the past undead spirits.<em>

_Though the rest of the day dreaded. The day after that, and the day after the next went on quickly. But what had transpired that day still held on tightly onto the spirits' hearts_

* * *

><p><em>1700, Human world<em>

_Haku watched the world above his underwater palace._  
><em>They were scrambling about, busying themselves with the festival that was happening that day. That same day every year. The only day of the year that they would bother waking up at five am in the morning to look at the sunrise and make offerings to the gods.<em>  
><em>But that day's offerings wasn't for the gods. It was for the bride of a god. The bride who went into eternal slumber, as they call it, on her wedding.<em>  
><em>How they know? Because on that very day, the rivers over flowed, causing a tremendous flood. It left the farmers with dead crops and families with no food or home. And they knew that the god of the river wouldn't do anything that drastic. No-matter-what. Unless of course it was losing the love of his life. Then that would be understandable. Losing someone so close, so precious was like losing one's life.<em>

_They understand his pain. And placed it first in line, on top of getting new houses and growing crops. They let him carry on his rampage. His anger. His sorrow. And for several days and several nights it lasted. But the villagers didn't care. They were understanding. They took refuge in another village and waited patiently for the end of his terror. It finally ended a few months later. And by then, it was the dry season. It hardly rained. Yes, the villagers got new houses within days. They had food, but it was scarce._  
><em>It was dry season. Dry season equals to almost no rain, no crops, no food. They could have gotten the water from the river. But no one was brave to get any. Because they fear the River god would have another fit. So they waited. They waited for the dry season to be over. And by then, many had died from starvation.<em>

_The next season came. The perfect season for growing. Everything was back to normal._

_Haku turned away as he could no longer bear to see the village his_

_bride once adored. Too much memories. He thought. He turned away and went to his room to busy himself with pending works._

* * *

><p><em>1700, human world<em>

_Somewhere on the same day the bride died, at the big village the she adored and cherished, a woman struggled to give birth._

_"Yuuko please, hang on. It'll be over soon." Her husband coaxed. Yuuko screamed louder. Then, with a last push, her precious came out. The nurse held her in her hands. Smiling as the baby cried. Giving sign that she was alive._

_"Yuuko, you did it. A baby girl." The nurse said as she handed the little baby to her mother. "What's her name?"_

_"Chihiro."_

* * *

><p><em>1720, human world<em>

_"Father! Father!" Haruhi ran along the red carpet as she yelled. Alas, she found her father. Seating on his golden and majestic throne, with the six other celestial gods seating on his left and right separately. The celestial gods towered over her, more than a few hundred meters tall._  
><em>"What is it young one?" Ask a female goddess in her godly voice. She sat at the last seat from the left of her father.<em>

_"Is it true? You've brought Chihiro back?" Haruhi asks. The female goddess's masked face turned into a frown. She turned to face the celestial god king._

_"The one she is talking about. Is it about the bride of the river god who went into eternal slumber one hundred and nineteen years ago?" The god king nodded slowly._

_"You've brought her back?" Asked another celestial god. He sat beside the goddess. The god king nodded once more. "Why?"_

_"because I felt that it wasn't her time yet. So I gave her a new life." Was all he said before vanishing into thin air. Signalling the end of discussion._

_Haruhi stood in front of the empty throne that belonged to her father._

_I want to see her. She thought. With a heavy heart and a depressing sigh, she started towards her bedroom._

_"Just go young one. Go find your precious. Your beloved lady-in-waiting you adore so much." As soon as she heard that, she swirled around to face the young goddess who said that._

_The other celestial gods either shook their heads or just agreed plainly. Haruhi's shocked face was momentarily, she looked at the goddess in such a way that it made her cringe. 'Really?' Haruhi mouthed._

_"Why not? Bring that river god too. He would be happy to see his bride living amongst the villagers. Go on." And with that, Haruhi did. She ran straight to the underwater palace, demanding for Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi._

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, I uploaded it a day earlier. I'm tooooooo tired to carry on tho.<strong>  
><strong>But meh. For the sake of those readers reading this story, I'll complete chapter nine and upload it within the next week!<strong>

**Ciao! Good night!**


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